1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved carrier which provides both mechanical and static shielding protection for dual in-line package (DIP) integrated circuit components or devices and in one aspect to a carrier to accommodate a single 300, 400 or 600 mil DIP.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The integrated circuit devices must be shipped from the manufacturer to the user; and at the user's plant, the integrated circuit devices are stored for use and supplied as needed. Since the integrated circuit devices comprise pins which extend from the sides of the devices for attachment to printed circuit boards, it is advantageous that such pins not be bent or displaced. The pins are generally formed to extend from parallel sides; and when extending from just two sides, the components are referred to as dual inline package (DIP) integrated circuit components or devices. The spacing between the pins is measured in thousandth of an inch or mils and the DIP components are thus identified as the 300, 400, and 600, etc. mil DIP.
Prior to this invention individual DIP components were shipped on foam carriers, offering limited mechanical protection, in shielded bags offering no mechanical protection, or in blister packaging which offered both mechanical and static shielding protection but at a high unit cost.
The foam carriers and bags offered a universal package for all of the popular sizes of components but they are bulky and not entirely satisfactory. They do not offer the desired degree of mechanical and static shielding protection to protect the integrated circuit and to protect the pins from undesirable displacement. The existing blister packages do not afford universal packaging and inventory of sizes and the cost make them undesirable.